Almanzor mare back in style

Well-performed Almanzor mare Qali Al Farrasha looks set for another lucrative campaign following her impressive return to racing at Ellerslie.The Mark Walker and Sam Bergerson representative was resuming over a distance well short of her best, but in a fresh state she exploded clear to coast home at the end of 1400 metres.Qali Al Farrasha measured up well against the best fillies last season when she ran third in the G1 New Zealand Oaks, off the back of a runner-up finish in the G3 Sunline Vase, to earn a crack at another top-flight title at Morphettville.“She went to Adelaide for the Australasian Oaks, drew the outside and things didn’t work out, but she spelled brilliantly at the farm where Deane Lowcay, our bloodstock manager, and the team there had her looking really good for when she came back into training,” Walker said.“We’ve just brought her along nice and slowly and since she’s turned in the coat she started to really do well, and Nicole Shailer had her looking in great order at the stables.“I think she’s in for an exciting preparation as a middle-distance mare that can win like that over 1400 metres first-up. There was a lot to like about the way she won and how well she’s developed.”She is raced by breeders Te Akau Stud, Nearco Stud and Westonlea Bloodstock and is a sister to the unbeaten Listed Welcome Stakes winner Nucleozor, who is now in Hong Kong.Their dam is the Burgundy mare Nucleonic, who has produced a pair of colts by Hello Youmzain in the last two seasons.